Boxing Day sales go down a treat

Bargain-seekers turn out at shopping hubs and malls, with early influx at Sylvia Park

Boxing Day punters turned out in droves at New Zealand’s biggest mall yesterday in the search for the best shopping deals and steals. Sylvia Park had recorded close to 70,000 people entering by 4pm, up 31,000 on their usual Wednesday foot-traffic of about 39,000.

Jo Allen, the marketing manager of Kiwi Income Property Trust, which owns Sylvia Park, said it had been a great day with more than five hours of shopping time left.

“It’s been amazing. We’ve had a traffic management company in to assist with flow with us opening up another 600 carparks.”

According to shoppers the carpark was nearly full by 8.30am, half an hour before the mall was due to open.

“I think it’s on par with previous years,” Allen said. “The biggest difference is this year they started very early so we were able to capture that market really well.”

Carparks were overflowing and people packed into stores during Boxing Day sales in Hawke’s Bay as well.

Thousands of shoppers armed with credit cards raided retailers of their bargains in Napier and Hastings.

At Rebel Sport in Hastings the queue was so long patient shoppers sat on the floor as they waited for the line to move along to the tills.

Police were also out and about around the city’s shopping hub to support staff of stores overflowing with keen shoppers.

Last year more than 280,000 people visited one of Kiwi Property’s six shopping malls throughout the country on Boxing Day.

Allen said Sylvia Park stores still expect a large number of people to visit the mall over the next few days.

“Obviously, Boxing Day seems to be the pinnacle of the sale frenzy,” she said. “I think the weather will play a big factor in what happens for the few days afterwards as well.

“Sales will still be on.

“The expectation is that we will have a lot of people through but perhaps not the same as today.”